Kelly Wahlquist is a dynamic and inspiring Catholic speaker whose gift of weaving personal stories and Scripture together with practical advice allows her audience to enter more fully into what Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict have called us into - to be witnesses of our faith and part of the New Evangelization.

Embracing My Inner Martha: Living the Lesson Learned

Marta... Marta... Marta.... What do you mean, “Did you make a Facebook Evite yet?” Don’t you know I just zipped that last email about the upcoming event off quickly so I could get to my cut and color appointment ten minutes late, race to my 14-year-old’s lacrosse game, leave early to bee-line it to the batting cages to pick up my son, find him food, drop him off at home, throw in a load of whites, pick up my 17-year-old from play practice, drive her to her babysitting job, pick up toilet paper and syrup at the grocery store, dash home to feed the dog, and sit down to frantically write this article that is due in... um... 3 hours! And all on a night that I promised myself I was going to let go of my inner “Martha” and connect with my inner “Mary”. So how am doing so far?

Ya... ya... ya... I know. Martha has snubbed out Mary again, and that can be such a discouraging feeling—especially on days when I tell myself I am going to schedule time to just sit and pray.

When I find myself overcome by daily activities that cut into my time with the Lord, I can easily beat myself up and conclude, I am the worst disciple of Christ, ever! And it gets worse; Truth be told, I like my inner Martha, busy though she may be, I am comfortable with her. Often times, I welcome the distraction she brings, because when I sit with my inner Mary, I find myself fidgeting, or wondering what I’m going to make for dinner, or lamenting over all of the things I could be getting done. Then I think, I can’t even concentrate on prayer, I am the worst disciple, ever! It is at these moments I hear, “Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, you are anxious and troubled about many things.” Yep, Lord, you got me pegged there. Then I hear the soft gentle voice of Jesus saying, “One thing is needful” (Luke 10:41), and my heart settles because I know that just being with Him is enough. I need not worry that I am fidgety or that my prayer isn’t good enough, I am with Him. I need not fret over the fact that beef stroganoff has entered my mind, I’ll acknowledge it might be a great dinner option and go back to rest in Him. I need not worry over what activities I’ve put on hold: discipleship sometimes requires that tasks be suspended while the relationship is nurtured. All I need to do is keep my eyes on Jesus.

It is at times like this I remind myself that Jesus liked His “Martha” too. In fact, he loved her. John 11: 5 begins with, “Now Jesus loved Martha.” I imagine he loved seeing her live her many virtues such as hospitality, kindness, and a deep faith. I think many misunderstand His call to her to recognize that she was anxious about many things as a reprimand to her for being busy serving. Jesus didn’t chide Martha for the fact that she was being hospitable. He opened her eyes to the fact that many troubles distracted her from keeping her eyes on Him. He pretty much said, “Martha, eyes on Me.” And get this, not only was it a beautiful lesson for Martha, it seems to have spurred a desire in the disciples to want to know how they too could find that down time, how they could suspend their tasks and work on their relationship with God; for, in the next chapter, St. Luke tells us “one of His disciples said to him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray...’” As a mom, I know this type of teaching all too well. You teach a lesson to a child in earshot of the others who too need to learn that very lesson.

Jesus, the ultimate teacher, was successful in His lesson that day with all audiences. When we see Martha again she proves her eyes are now on Jesus, meaning she trusts Him. She greets Jesus on the road (again a beautiful act of hospitality) and says, “And even now I know whatever you ask from God, God will give you” (John 11:22). She goes on to say, “Yes, Lord: I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world” (John 11:27).

At the beginning of the story, the Lord saw Martha’s troubled heart, now she has her eyes fixed on Him and those troubles seem to be replaced with a boldness of faith, a complete trust in Him, a knowledge of the “good portion” (Luke 11:42). Martha learned to let go of the troubles, forego some of the tasks to rest in the Lord, yet she still continued to live out her marvelous virtues. She still greeted the Lord on the road and in John 12:2 we see she continued to serve him supper. The difference is she now had a balance between her active and contemplative life, because she kept her eyes on Jesus.

So now that the kids are fed and tucked into bed and this article is coming to a close, I am going to go put my eyes on Jesus, and just sit with Him, and no matter what distractions enter my mind, I’m going to stay put and know that even the effort is bound to make me a good disciple of Christ; because, discipleship sometimes requires that tasks be suspended while the relationship is nurtured. So last load of laundry, consider your trip to the dryer suspended!